Friends of a 27-year-old Winnipeg man who died last week in Fish Lake near Whitehorse are remembering him as a passionate photographer who loved nature.

Matthew MacIntyre was visiting the territory with a friend when the canoe they were in capsized in Fish Lake late last week. The friend survived, but MacIntyre did not.

"The guy was extremely passionate about everything that he did, [the] people in his life, photography, nature," Chris Godfrey, who worked with MacIntyre at Don's Photo in Winnipeg, told CBC News on Tuesday.

Godfrey said MacIntyre was excited about his trip north, where he was planning to take photographs and go canoeing and hiking with his friend.

RCMP say MacIntyre and the friend had gone out onto Fish Lake in a rented canoe last Thursday when the wind picked up and the lake became choppy.

The pair was trying to keep the bow turned into the wind when the canoe tipped.

The men were not able to stay with the canoe. Police say the survivor swam to an island on the lake, but he lost track of MacIntyre.

The survivor made a fire and slowly recovered. He swam back to shore the next morning, hiked to the parking lot and drove to Whitehorse where he called 911.

Cause of death unclear

An RCMP Twin Otter conducted an aerial search of the lake and officers spotted a body on a beach. MacIntyre's body was recovered by boat.

"It's not really clear whether the person succumbed to hypothermia or drowned," said Whitehorse RCMP Sgt. Don Rogers.

Rogers said the men appeared well-prepared for the trip, but he added that the water was very cold and hypothermia is a real concern in fall temperatures.

"I don't think Matt is the type of person that would take a risk that wasn't calculated, so I don't think that he would ever do something that would risk himself or his friend," Godfrey said.

MacIntyre recently won a photography contest and had been promoted to a new job that he was supposed to start this week, Godfrey added.